Aaron Gordon active for Game 7, despite a report he needs a month to recover

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is available for Game 7 on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He will also start the game.

That’s despite a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania earlier in the day that painted a bleak picture of where his hamstring injury is currently at.

Charania reported that Gordon has a Grade 2 strain and the recovery is several weeks. Charania also went on “SportsCenter” and said Gordon needs a month to recover.

Denver's Aaron Gordon has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and needs several weeks to recover from the injury, sources tell ESPN. The Nuggets' playoff star has been searching for ways to play in today's Game 7 against Oklahoma City, but it is becoming physically improbable to do so. https://t.co/YG7ishR0A3

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 18, 2025

Well, Gordon has different ideas, going through his pregame warmup and will give it a go. Either Charania got bad information, or Gordon is way tougher than anyone realizes. And we already knew he’s pretty tough.

Aaron Gordon has been a hero for Denver in these playoffs, hitting two game-winning shots and another to tie Game 3 against the Thunder to sent it to overtime. The Nuggets eventually won that contest.

The hamstring injury for Gordon happened in the closing moments of a Game 6 Denver win.

With about 100 seconds left, Chet Holmgren stripped Gordon of the ball, and the Nuggets player chased it alongside OKC’s Alex Caruso. The two mixed up, and Gordon kicked the ball and took an awkward step. He came up, grabbed his hamstring, and checked out of the game about 30 seconds later.

On Sunday, Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said Gordon had a chance to play in Game 7, and that will indeed be the case.

If Denver can pull a stunner this afternoon, the next series against the Minnesota Timberwolves with Aaron Gordon’s health in question would be a daunting task. But he’s already proving people wrong.

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